5 must-read historical fiction books like The Heron by Giorgio Bassani

Cover of The Heron by Giorgio Bassani

The Heron

By: Giorgio Bassani

3.65

Format: 192 pages, Paperback

Bassani describes a land beyond the city and surrounding countryside. It is a land that lives also …

"Come erano tranquilli e beati gli altri, tutti gli altri! – tornava a ripetersi, riabbassata la testa sul piatto –. Come erano bravi a godersi la vita! La sua pasta si vede era diversa, inguaribilmente diversa, da quella della gente normale che una volta mangiato e bevuto non bada che a digerire. Accanirsi a mangiare e a bere a lui non sarebbe servito, no. (...) sarebbe ricascato in pieno a ruminare sulle sue solite cose, le vecchie e le nuove. Le sentiva in agguato, già pronte a saltargli addosso come prima, come sempre: e tutte quante insieme."

-Giorgio Bassani, The Heron

"Come erano tranquilli e beati gli altri, tutti gli altri! – tornava a ripetersi, riabbassata la testa sul piatto –. Come erano bravi a godersi la vita! La sua pasta si vede era diversa, inguaribilmente diversa, da quella della gente normale che una volta mangiato e bevuto non bada che a digerire. Accanirsi a mangiare e a bere a lui non sarebbe servito, no. (...) sarebbe ricascato in pieno a ruminare sulle sue solite cose, le vecchie e le nuove. Le sentiva in agguato, già pronte a saltargli addosso come prima, come sempre: e tutte quante insieme."

-Giorgio Bassani, The Heron

"Come erano tranquilli e beati gli altri, tutti gli altri! – tornava a ripetersi, riabbassata la testa sul piatto –. Come erano bravi a godersi la vita! La sua pasta si vede era diversa, inguaribilmente diversa, da quella della gente normale che una volta mangiato e bevuto non bada che a digerire. Accanirsi a mangiare e a bere a lui non sarebbe servito, no. (...) sarebbe ricascato in pieno a ruminare sulle sue solite cose, le vecchie e le nuove. Le sentiva in agguato, già pronte a saltargli addosso come prima, come sempre: e tutte quante insieme."

-Giorgio Bassani, The Heron

If you liked the historical fiction plot in The Heron by Giorgio Bassani , here is a list of 5 books like this:

Cover of Pizzeria Kamikaze by Etgar Keret, Asaf Hanuka, Miriam Shiesinger

1. Pizzeria Kamikaze

By: Etgar Keret , Asaf Hanuka , Miriam Shiesinger

3.79

Format: 100 pages, Paperback

Pizzeria Kamikaze is about a guy with a broken heart who committed suicide only to find himself at … read more

Similar categories in Etgar Keret's Pizzeria Kamikaze book and Giorgio Bassani's The Heron

  • fiction
  • mental health
Cover of Patrimony by Philip Roth

2. Patrimony

By: Philip Roth

4.21

Format: 240 pages, Paperback

Patrimony, a true story, touches the emotions as strongly as anything Philip Roth has ever written.… read more

Similar categories in Philip Roth's Patrimony book and Giorgio Bassani's The Heron

  • literature
  • jewish
"But this had happened to me more than once in my life: I had refused to allow convention to determine my conduct, only to learn, after I’d gone my own way, that my bedrock feelings were sometimes mor…"

-Philip Roth, Patrimony

Cover of Uomini e no by Elio Vittorini

3. Uomini e no

By: Elio Vittorini

3.72

Format: 238 pages, Paperback

In "Uomini e no", scritto da Vittorini tra la primavera e l'autunno del 1944, si trovano congiunte … read more

Similar categories in Elio Vittorini's Uomini e no book and Giorgio Bassani's The Heron

  • italy
  • italian literature
  • classics
  • fiction
  • historical fiction
  • 20th century
  • novels
"Perché si chiamava civile una guerra in cui due fratelli potevano trovarsi uno contro l'altro? Non si sarebbe dovuto chiamarla, anzi, incivile?"

-Elio Vittorini, Uomini e no

"Bisogna che gli uomini possano essere felici. Ogni cosa ha un senso solo perché gli uomini siano felici. Non è solo per questo che le cose hanno un senso?"

-Elio Vittorini, Uomini e no

"Io a volte non so, quando quest'uomo è solo - chiuso al buio in una stanza, steso su un letto, uomo al mondo lui solo - io quasi non so s'io non sono, invece del suo scrittore, lui stesso."

-Elio Vittorini, Uomini e no

"Egli voleva conoscere che cos'era quello che stava distruggendo; il vecchio e il vivo, e dal basso, tra i cani, guardava l'uomo nudo davanti a sé. [...] Sembrava che volesse tutto di quell'uomo sotto…"

-Elio Vittorini, Uomini e no

Cover of Against Nature by Joris-Karl Huysmans, Patrick McGuinness, Robert Baldick, Patrick McGuiness

4. Against Nature

By: Joris-Karl Huysmans , Patrick McGuinness , Robert Baldick , Patrick McGuiness

3.87

Format: 54 pages, Paperback

With a title translated either as Against Natureor as Against The Grain, this wildly original fin-d… read more

Similar categories in Joris-Karl Huysmans's Against Nature book and Giorgio Bassani's The Heron

  • literature
  • classics
  • fiction
Cover of The Wall by Jean-Paul Sartre

5. The Wall

By: Jean-Paul Sartre

4.17

Format: None pages,

'The Wall', the lead story in this collection, introduces three political prisoners on the night pr… read more

Similar categories in Jean-Paul Sartre's The Wall book and Giorgio Bassani's The Heron

  • literature
  • classics
  • fiction
Cover of Cranford by Elizabeth Gaskell

6. Cranford

By: Elizabeth Gaskell

3.81

Format: 4 pages, Paperback

'It is very pleasant dining with a bachelor...I only hope it is not improper; so many pleasant thin… read more

Similar categories in Elizabeth Gaskell's Cranford book and Giorgio Bassani's The Heron

  • classics
  • fiction
  • historical fiction
Cover of Il segreto del Bosco Vecchio by Dino Buzzati, Claudio Toscani

7. Il segreto del Bosco Vecchio

By: Dino Buzzati , Claudio Toscani

4.17

Format: None pages, Paperback

"Bosco Vecchio - scrive Claudio Toscani nella sua introduzione a questo volume - e un mito: e la fo… read more

Similar categories in Dino Buzzati's Il segreto del Bosco Vecchio book and Giorgio Bassani's The Heron

  • italy
  • classics
  • fiction
  • italian literature
  • novels
Cover of Troppi paradisi by Walter Siti

8. Troppi paradisi

By: Walter Siti

4.10

Format: 264 pages, Hardcover

Si chiama <>, il protagonista di questo romanzo. Se da giovane era convinto di essere anomalo, ades… read more

Similar categories in Walter Siti's Troppi paradisi book and Giorgio Bassani's The Heron

  • novels
  • fiction
  • italian literature
Cover of My Prizes: An Accounting by Thomas Bernhard, Carol Brown Janeway

9. My Prizes: An Accounting

By: Thomas Bernhard , Carol Brown Janeway

4.55

Format: 160 pages, Hardcover

A gathering of brilliant and viciously funny recollections from one of the twentieth century's most… read more

Similar categories in Thomas Bernhard's My Prizes: An Accounting book and Giorgio Bassani's The Heron

  • literature
  • 20th century
Cover of Fosca by Carlo Emilio Gadda, Iginio Ugo Tarchetti

10. Fosca

By: Carlo Emilio Gadda , Iginio Ugo Tarchetti

3.16

Format: 315 pages, Paperback

<>Tale, al protagonista di questo romanzo di Igino Ugo Tarchetti (1839-1869), esponente di spicco d… read more

Similar categories in Carlo Emilio Gadda's Fosca book and Giorgio Bassani's The Heron

  • italy
  • classics
  • fiction
  • italian literature
  • novels

11. Un amore

By: Dino Buzzati

4.40

Format: None pages, Paperback

Antonio, uomo di mezz'eta appartenente alla Milano bene, si innamora di qualcuno che non potra mai … read more

Similar categories in Dino Buzzati's Un amore book and Giorgio Bassani's The Heron

  • italy
  • classics
  • literature
  • fiction
  • italian literature
  • novels

12. Works

By: Vitaliano Trevisan

3.95

Format: 260 pages, Paperback

Con una scrittura originale come un classico pezzo di jazz, che ne ha fatto uno degli autori italia… read more

Similar categories in Vitaliano Trevisan's Works book and Giorgio Bassani's The Heron

13. Lanzarote

By: Michel Houellebecq , Frank Wynne

4.11

Format: 500 pages, Paperback

Realising that his New Year is probably going to be a disaster, as usual, our narrator, on impulse,… read more

Similar categories in Michel Houellebecq's Lanzarote book and Giorgio Bassani's The Heron

14. The Star Rover

By: Jack London , Lorenzo Carcaterra

3.89

Format: 704 pages, Paperback

The Star Rover, in the UK published as The Jacket, is a collection of short stories revolves around… read more

Similar categories in Jack London's The Star Rover book and Giorgio Bassani's The Heron

15. Il piacere

By: Gabriele d'Annunzio

4.26

Format: 168 pages, Paperback

Le ambizioni e le contraddizioni di Andrea Sperelli sono al centro di questo che e il primo romanzo… read more

Similar categories in Gabriele d'Annunzio's Il piacere book and Giorgio Bassani's The Heron

16. L'isola di Arturo

By: Elsa Morante

3.53

Format: 256 pages, Paperback

Il romanzo e un'esplorazione attenta della prima realta verso le sorgenti non inquinate della vita.… read more

Similar categories in Elsa Morante's L'isola di Arturo book and Giorgio Bassani's The Heron

17. All Our Yesterdays

By: Natalia Ginzburg , Angus Davidson

3.59

Format: 464 pages,

read more

Similar categories in Natalia Ginzburg's All Our Yesterdays book and Giorgio Bassani's The Heron

18. Cronache di poveri amanti

By: Vasco Pratolini

4.95

Format: 224 pages, Paperback

Ha cantato il gallo del Nesi carbonaio, si e spenta la lanterna dell'Albergo Cervia. Il passaggio d… read more

Similar categories in Vasco Pratolini's Cronache di poveri amanti book and Giorgio Bassani's The Heron

Cover of Nana by Émile Zola

19. Nana

By: Émile Zola

3.84

Format: 473 pages, Paperback

Wenn die üppige blonde Nana auf der Bühne des Pariser Varietétheaters steht, spürt jeder: sie hat k… read more

Similar categories in Émile Zola's Nana book and Giorgio Bassani's The Heron

  • classics
  • literature
  • fiction
  • historical fiction
  • novels
"The more grievous the sin, the greater the repentance, God was bidding His time."

-Émile Zola, Nana

"A ruined man fell from her hands like a ripe fruit, to lie rotting on the ground."

-Émile Zola, Nana

"Kalau kau sendiri tidak senang melakukan sesuatu, itu bukan alasan untuk mencegah orang lain menyukainya."

-Émile Zola, Nana

"The passion for defiling things was inborn in her. It was not enough for her to destroy them, she had to soil them too."

-Émile Zola, Nana

20. La camera azzurra

By: Georges Simenon , Marina di Leo

4.13

Format: None pages, Paperback

Librarian note: an alternate cover for this edition can be found . "Sei cosi bello" gli aveva dett… read more

Similar categories in Georges Simenon's La camera azzurra book and Giorgio Bassani's The Heron

21. The Notebooks of Don Rigoberto

By: Mario Vargas Llosa

4.50

Format: None pages, Paperback

Don Rigoberto - by day a grey insurance executive, by night a pornographer and sexual enthusiast - … read more

Similar categories in Mario Vargas Llosa's The Notebooks of Don Rigoberto book and Giorgio Bassani's The Heron

22. Il cappotto di astrakan

By: Piero Chiara

4.40

Format: 304 pages,

Ambientato nella Parigi del secondo dopoguerra, Il cappotto di Astrakan costituisce un capolavoro d… read more

Similar categories in Piero Chiara's Il cappotto di astrakan book and Giorgio Bassani's The Heron

23. Speak, Memory

By: Vladimir Nabokov

4.00

Format: 120 pages, Paperback

'Speak, memory' said Vladimir Nabokov. And immediately there came flooding back to him a host of en… read more

Similar categories in Vladimir Nabokov's Speak, Memory book and Giorgio Bassani's The Heron

Cover of Determined: A Science of Life without Free Will by Robert M. Sapolsky

24. Determined: A Science of Life without Free Will

By: Robert M. Sapolsky

4.25

Format: 528 pages, Hardcover

One of our great behavioral scientists, the bestselling author of Behave, plumbs the depths of the … read more

Similar categories in Robert M. Sapolsky's Determined: A Science of Life without Free Will book and Giorgio Bassani's The Heron

"I’m being diplomatic. Many readers will know of the “replication crisis"

-Robert M. Sapolsky, Determined: A Science of Life without Free Will

"Obviously, imposing these classifications on determinism, free will, and moral responsibility is wildly simplified. A key simplification is pretending that most people have clean “yes"

-Robert M. Sapolsky, Determined: A Science of Life without Free Will

"You cannot decide all the sensory stimuli in your environment, your hormone levels this morning, whether something traumatic happened to you in the past, the socioeconomic status of your parents, you…"

-Robert M. Sapolsky, Determined: A Science of Life without Free Will

Cover of Kairos by Jenny Erpenbeck

25. Kairos

By: Jenny Erpenbeck

3.46

Format: 379 pages, Hardcover

Die neunzehnjährige Katharina und Hans, ein verheirateter Mann Mitte fünfzig, begegnen sich Ende de… read more

Similar categories in Jenny Erpenbeck's Kairos book and Giorgio Bassani's The Heron

  • literature
  • novels
  • fiction
  • historical fiction
"She would like a shallow life, swift and shallow, till some day she can start again. Get through her time fast until then. And when will that be? Then."

-Jenny Erpenbeck, Kairos

Cover of Los días perfectos by Jacobo Bergareche

26. Los días perfectos

By: Jacobo Bergareche

3.81

Format: 184 pages, Paperback

De la pasión a la rutina, una cautivadora novela que explora las dos caras de las relaciones amoros… read more

Similar categories in Jacobo Bergareche's Los días perfectos book and Giorgio Bassani's The Heron

  • novels
  • fiction
Cover of Sur la Dalle (Commissaire Adamsberg, #12) by Fred Vargas

27. Sur la Dalle (Commissaire Adamsberg, #12)

By: Fred Vargas

3.54

Format: 504 pages, Kindle Edition

"— Le dolmen dont tu m’as parlé, Johan, il est bien sur la route du petit pont ? — À deux kilomètre… read more

Similar categories in Fred Vargas's Sur la Dalle (Commissaire Adamsberg, #12) book and Giorgio Bassani's The Heron

  • novels
  • fiction
Cover of Le perfezioni by Vincenzo Latronico

28. Le perfezioni

By: Vincenzo Latronico

3.30

Format: 144 pages, Paperback

Tutti vorrebbero la vita di Anna e Tom. Un lavoro creativo senza troppi vincoli; un appartamento a … read more

Similar categories in Vincenzo Latronico's Le perfezioni book and Giorgio Bassani's The Heron

  • novels
  • fiction
  • italian literature
Cover of The Heron by Giorgio Bassani

29. The Heron

By: Giorgio Bassani

3.65

Format: 192 pages, Paperback

Bassani describes a land beyond the city and surrounding countryside. It is a land that lives also … read more

Similar categories in Giorgio Bassani's The Heron book and Giorgio Bassani's The Heron

  • italy
  • classics
  • jewish
  • literature
  • mental health
  • fiction
  • italian literature
  • 20th century
  • historical fiction
  • novels
"Come erano tranquilli e beati gli altri, tutti gli altri! – tornava a ripetersi, riabbassata la testa sul piatto –. Come erano bravi a godersi la vita! La sua pasta si vede era diversa, inguaribilmen…"

-Giorgio Bassani, The Heron

Cover of Het archief by Thomas Heerma van Voss

30. Het archief

By: Thomas Heerma van Voss

4.35

Format: 250 pages, Paperback

Er zijn verzoeken waarop je geen nee kunt zeggen. Voor de jonge, ambitieuze Pierre is dat de vraag … read more

Similar categories in Thomas Heerma van Voss's Het archief book and Giorgio Bassani's The Heron

  • novels
  • fiction
Cover of There's No Turning Back by Alba de Céspedes

31. There's No Turning Back

By: Alba de Céspedes

3.86

Format: 304 pages, Hardcover

Discover the astonishingly powerful debut novel by the beloved feminist author of the “brilliant” (… read more

Similar categories in Alba de Céspedes's There's No Turning Back book and Giorgio Bassani's The Heron

  • italian literature
  • classics
  • literature
  • 20th century
  • fiction
  • novels
"A casa, ormai, non si può più tornare. I genitori non dovrebbero mandarci in città. Dopo, anche se torniamo, siamo cattive figlie, cattive mogli. Chi può dimenticare di essere stata padrona di se ste…"

-Alba de Céspedes, There's No Turning Back

"Eppure era così; nulla può distruggere, annientare un passato: tu accuratamente lo nascondi, lo occulti, nessuno ha visto, nessuno ha saputo, fuorché te stessa, e tu non parlerai mai. E invece seguit…"

-Alba de Céspedes, There's No Turning Back

17 must-read fiction books like The Heron by Giorgio Bassani

Transform Your Habits

Pizzeria Kamikaze

Etgar Keret , Asaf Hanuka , Miriam Shiesinger

3.79

Transform Your Habits

Uomini e no

Elio Vittorini

3.72

Transform Your Habits

Against Nature

Joris-Karl Huysmans , Patrick McGuinness , Robert Baldick , Patrick McGuiness

3.87

Transform Your Habits

The Wall

Jean-Paul Sartre

4.17

View all the books

13 best-selling literature books like My Prizes: An Accounting by Thomas Bernhard, Carol Brown Janeway

Transform Your Habits

El africano

J.M.G. Le Clézio

3.67

Transform Your Habits

The Emigrants

Michael Hulse , W.G. Sebald

4.17

Transform Your Habits

Dora Bruder

Patrick Modiano , None

3.57

Transform Your Habits

The Art of the Novel

Milan Kundera , Linda Asher

3.60

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